Some notes about people and mistakes

I have been criticize many times in my past for mistakes that were done. However, they just pointed the finger on what’s wrong. “You need to do this better”. That’s not helpful. Somehow this sounds normal for many, but it’s bad.

Don’t get me wrong, criticism is essential for everyone. We need it to become better in things we do. The questions is often how it’s done. One example that comes to my mind is grammar. I’m not good with grammar.

Especially when I wrote documentation. There is a always something I get wrong.

But you can tell someone that he made mistake in his writing or you can tell them that there are bad because of such mistakes. One points at a flaw, which is nice. The other is making you feel bad. Even worse you’re being punished for a mistake. But this way you’ll not get better with it.

Pushing for mistakes is a common patter I have seen over the past years. But it’s like a poison and not productive. Sure sometimes it can help. But most of the times it’s not.

What’s the point I want to make: Try not to do this. Try to add value to the things. Sometimes just the attempt is of value. It’s much about how we judge others and it’s hard to not fall for this pit. Point out where a mistake lies. Tell them how to detect them. Maybe how to prevent them for the further. Don’t make them feel bad about the mistake, help to feel good doing so and that they learning about it.

best regards Akendo